(Recasts, adds CEO comments, updates stock movement)

By Steve James

NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Coal miner Massey Energy (MEE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday that steelmakers hit by the global recession are looking to renegotiate supply contracts as their coal needs decline.

Chief Executive Office Don Blankenship said in addition to cutting production, the company might reduce its workforce, cut overtime and Saturday shifts, and even idle some mines.

Massey shares fell over 9 percent on Wednesday after the company posted lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and said it was cutting production and pricing estimates for 2009 because of the economic downturn.

"There are a lot of customers with blast furnaces down," Blankenship told Wall Street analysts. "Some customers are looking for longer-term contracts, some want discounts, it's a hodgepodge.

"We would like to sell more met," he said, referring to metallurgical, or coking coal, used in steelmaking.

He declined to elaborate on steel company efforts to renegotiate coal contracts, but said on the conference call that the economic downturn made demand levels uncertain.

Asked if Massey would close mines, Blankenship said: "We will be able to reduce the workforce by attrition and can deal with less production with reduced overtime. We can cut back on Saturday and idle some mines, but we will try to avoid that."